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Portland, OR - It was a big night for senior Gary Winston, reaching a milestone of 1,000 career points. But the support of his teammates played a huge role as well as Portland State put the Northern Colorado Bears into hibernation, 91-75.
Winston provided the game-high 19 points in a variety of ways, including five three-pointers and a tip-dunk for the first basket of that variety in the 6-foot guard's four-year career. Winston got his 1,000th point on a three-pointer with 11:23 left in the first half.
Winston hit 6-12 shots, 5-8 three-pointers and 2-2 at the line. DaShaun Wiggins, the Vikings leading scorer all year, added 17 points to the effort.
"Gary Winston had a good game, and good for him getting a thousand points. If he is getting 19 and DaShaun is getting 17, we are tough to beat," said Viking Coach Tyler Geving.
But it wasn't all about Winston as the Vikings had five players in double figures, nearly a sixth, and perhaps the best bench performance of the season. The five players off the bench combined for 36 points (making 13-20 shots, .650), 11 rebounds, 11 assists and committed only one turnover. That was key in a game where the Vikings lost second-leading scorer Braxton Tucker to a knee contusion just four minutes in.
Portland State's win was its third straight and lifted the Vikings to 14-11 on the season. PSU broke its fifth-place tie with Northern Colorado in the 12-team Big Sky standings, moving to 8-7 in league. UNC is now 12-14, 7-8.
The game was tied 26-all with 6:58 in the half before the Vikings broke away on a nine-point run. PSU got five from an unlikely source as Sebastian Suarez had a pair of free throws and a three-pointer. Suarez was pressed into duty when Tucker went down and Collin Spickerman got in foul trouble. The senior forward went on to tie his season-high with 11 points, making 3-4 three-pointers.
PSU went into halftime with a 40-35 lead. Winston hit three three-pointers in the first half for nine points and the Vikings committed only two turnovers. Dominique Lee made 5-5 shots for 11 first-half points to keep the Bears close.
Tim Douglas, another star off the bench, hit a three-pointer with 13:08 remaining in the game giving the Vikings their first double-digit lead at 59-48. Over the next five minutes PSU built that advantage to 75-56. The Bears were never closer than 13 after that and the Vikings coasted to the victory.
Portland State shot .581 in the second half and .525 for the game. PSU made 12 three-pointers, tying a season-high, and their 91 points were the most against a Division I opponent this year. The Vikings made only seven turnovers.
"Nineteen assists, seven turnovers, shooting 52%. That is pretty good production," Geving said. "When everybody steps up like that, its a fun game."
Douglas added nine points and six assists off the bench. Tiegbe Bamba continued his fine play with 11 points and six rebounds off the bench. Spickerman pitched in 10 points, five boards, three assists and four blocked shots.
"I thought two guys that really played well were Sebastian Suarez, who hit those threes - and he is not a guy who has played a lot so that was pretty cool - and then Tim Douglas, who has strung some games together of moving the basketball, playing good defense and knocking down shots. It has been fun to watch him," said Geving.
Lee paced the Bears with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Northern Colorado has lost four in a row.
GAME NOTES: Gary Winston became the 18th player in Portland State basketball history to reach 1,000 career points. He is the eighth player in the Big Sky era (1996-2015) to accomplish the feat. He finished the game with 1,011 points… the Vikings are now 9-3 at home… they lead the all-time Big Sky series against Northern Colorado, 12-6… Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard, who played in the Stott Center three times during his collegiate career, sat courtside watching the Viking win... Portland State has one week off before its next game. The Vikings host first-place Sacramento State (18-8, 12-3) in the home finale next Saturday night. Game time is 7:05 p.m. Live video, audio and stats are available at GoViks.com by clicking on the Game Day box.
